History Main / PutOnABus

* Jeff in ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' was accidentally kidnapped by aliens when he got shoved into their ship's tractor beam that was meant for Roger. Jeff hasn't been seen since and Roger and Stan are convinced Jeff is either not coming back or is most likely dead from being experimented on, but the upcoming 150th episode is meant to focus solely on this.

If you have time, please take time to put examples in alphabetical order. This page Administrivia/HowToAlphabetizeThings should help you with that.

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* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': At the end of the Lost Agent Arc, the surviving Fullbringers are written out of the manga in a way that enables them to return at a later date. [[spoiler: Riruka, Yukio, Jackie and Shishigawara are still alive and were written out but could return if Kubo decides to bring them back.]]

* Tak was a victim of a bus ride in ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim''. She [[spoiler:was lost in space after the fight between her and Zim.]] However, in an [[WhatCouldHaveBeen unfinished episode,]] she would have returned and become Zim's secondary rival. Unfortunately, [[TooGoodToLast the series ended before that could happen.]]

* ''Anime/MazingerZ'': TheHero Kouji Kabuto himself and his BattleCouple, Sayaka, were PutOnABus at the end of the series (to be exact, they were put on a plane and sent to America), and they were replaced by TheHero and the ActionGirl from the next series, ''Anime/GreatMazinger'' (Tetsuya and Jun). In fact, all ''Anime/MazingerZ'' characters but Shiro, Boss and his gang were PutOnABus when ''Anime/GreatMazinger'' started, although a few of them returned in the last season for the GrandFinale (Kouji, Sayaka, Prof. Yumi and [[spoiler:Dr. Hell]]). In ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer'', Kouji was the only character from ''Anime/MazingerZ'' and ''Anime/GreatMazinger'' was not PutOnABus (although Boss made a cameo appearance). GoNagai intended Sayaka to return, too, but ExecutiveMeddling prevented this from happening. In the manga versions, though, more characters and settings from the original series show up.

* Misty in ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' left the show five years in and has been stuck preventing her sisters from messing up the Cerulean Gym ever since. She was followed by May, who in turn was followed by Dawn, with both getting four years before joining Misty on the bus. If an interview with the anime director is anything to go by, this will be the fate for every female main character who travels with Ash in the series every time a new generation of Pokémon comes out. Misty's departure has not been welcomed by fans, who claim that ''Pokémon'' has been [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks ruined forever]].

** One of the most egregious examples of this was when Heracross was PutOnABus; in order to participate in a tournament, he sends Heracross back to get his Tauros. At the end of the episode, he sends Tauros back... ''but does not get Heracross.'' Heracross eventually returns for the Johto league.

** And in ''Best Wishes'', they do this to ''all'' of their Pokemon.
** In a recent season of ''Pokémon'', [[spoiler:Ambipom]] ''is'' put on a bus.

** And all of the first 493 Pokemon except Pikachu and [[TookALevelInBadass Meowth]] in ''BestWishes''.

* Lots of bus rides in ''DragonBall'':

* In ''Anime/MaiHime'', [[spoiler:Akane Higurashi]] gets PutOnABus after her boyfriend and [[spoiler:MIP Kazuya is killed as a side-effect of Miyu destroying Akane's CHILD]]. She's shown twice afterwards in a particularly heartbreaking HeroicBSOD state, which she doesn't recover from until the end of the series... when [[spoiler:Mashiro revives Kazuya and restores her powers just in time for her and the defeated [=HiME=]s to join Mai and Mikoto in the last battle.]]

** He returned next season to give some ExpoSpeak and a little TechnoBabble... and got PutOnABus all over again. And he started out as a major character, too, before being DemotedToExtra. Poor guy practically had a bus pass.

** To [[spoiler:[[{{Badass}} Jack Rakan]]]], being [[spoiler:erased from existence]] [[BeyondTheImpossible is being]] PutOnABus[[spoiler:, and his [[TheBusCameBack bus came back.]]]]

** In this case, this is oddly {{justified|Trope}}. Originally, TakehitoKoyasu, Touga's voice actor in the Japanese version, briefly left the show to work on other projects, so they invoked this instead of [[TheOtherDarrin looking for another actor.]]

* In ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' Leorio and Kurapika, two of the main characters we're put in a bus for years! Fortunately, they both have been seen in recent chapters.
** Ironically, it looks like Killua has been put on a bus as of recently since he's off to travel with his sister Alluka for a bit.

* Between the late 1960s and his return in the early '80s, J'onn J'onnz, the MartianManhunter of the {{Justice League|OfAmerica}}, went off to find "New Mars" with the rest of the Martian people. This has since been {{retcon}}ned -- along with the existence of [[LastOfHisKind other Martians in general]].

* The JusticeSocietyOfAmerica was PutOnABus following ''Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', when they decided to disband after the merging of the Earths but were called to alter the outcome of the Norse gods' Ragnarok in order to prevent Adolf Hitler from retroactively destroying the universe in 1945, which caused the team to remain trapped in a never-ending fight cycle [[TheBusCameBack until several years later]] in ''Armageddon: Inferno''.

* My Little Pony fanfic [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9146423/1/ "The New Six"]] is set in an alternate universe where all of the Mane 6 members are gone. This trope applies to all of the six except except Twilight (who died) and Applejack (who still lives in Ponyville). Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie moved to the alternate version of Appleloosa, Rainbow Dash left to travel the world, and we don't know what happened to Rarity yet.

** He's reduced to a cameo for [[spoiler:the BatmanColdOpen]] in ''Film/TheDarkKnight, and then sent straight to jail. [[spoiler:Then he's freed by Bane]] in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', [[spoiler:and becomes a HangingJudge, until disappearing offscreen.]]

* In ''TheTrumanShow'', Truman's father was quite literally and forcefully put on a bus immediately when Truman recognized him for who he was. As in, FORCED onto a moving bus by other people as Truman chased him and was blocked by a passing bicycle mob.

* This happens to many different characters in ''WarAndPeace'', as [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters there are so many of them]], but the one who stands out most is Dolokhov, who is PutOnABus after crushing Nikolai Rostov and stripping him of nearly forty thousand roubles, only to return later after having [[TookALevelInBadass taken a level in Badass]].

* The cast from the series ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' got put on a bus in the sequel, ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus''.

* ''TheRiftwarCycle'' character Owyn Beleforte was key to the plot of ''VideoGame/BetrayalAtKrondor'' and its novelization, ''Krondor: The Betrayal''. Then he was put on a bus and never heard from again (Save for a one page reference in the next book stating where the bus is going). Strangely, the bus heads in different directions in each media: In the game, he gets a crown-paid scholarship to Stardock and potentially becomes a great wizard. In the books, he goes home and spends the rest of his life in a part of the Kingdom that is generally irrelevant to the plot of the series.
* Before the end of the first book, the Starling triplets in ''The39Clues'' are caught in an explosion rigged by the Holts and end up in the hospital with serious injuries. They barely garner a mention in any of the next nine books, [[spoiler: but return in the tenth book in time for the series' conclusion.]]

* Thalia Grace is AWOL from the fourth book of Percy Jackson and the olympians, after joining the goddess Artemis's hunt.
* In Michael Grant's GONE series, Justin has his own story arc in LIES and is set up to be a prominent character. Then he randomly dissapears in the adjacent book PLAGUE, only to suddenly resurface as a side-character in FEAR.

* In ''Series/HomeImprovement'', Randy Taylor is PutOnABus to Costa Rica for a school trip, and only makes one appearance later on in the show, a Christmas Special, where he notes how no one even missed him (except the viewers).

** More examples from the ''Law and Order'' realm: Jamie goes back to criminal defense, Alex goes into Witness Protection, Abbie goes to work for the feds, Serena is fired, etc.

*** In the cases of Grace Holloway and Chang Lee from [[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie the TV movie]], rights issues between the BBC and Universal Studios currently prevents the two characters from reappearing ''anywhere'' in the Whoniverse (and that includes the [[DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]]). If they ''do'' get mentioned at all, it's through a very oblique reference.

* ''Series/TheOC'' actually cleverly subverted this (believe it or not). Everyone knew Mischa Barton was leaving the show at the end of the third season, and the episode had the plotline that she was going away to live with her dad, seemingly being PutOnABus. However, on her way to the airport, she was in a car accident and died.

** Whitney Fordman is PutOnABus at the end of Season 1. They then [[spoiler:DroppedABridgeOnHim]] in Season Two...

** [[CreatorsPet Lana Lang]] was Put On A Bus at the end of season seven.

* Sara Sidle of ''Series/{{CSI}}'' was recently PutOnABus, leaving with the possibility that she'll return if actress Jorja Fox and CBS change their minds.

* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' did it three times. First, Aiden left, quitting before Mac could fire her for considering planting evidence, but then her storyline ended in a combo of BusCrash and StuffedInTheFridge. Mac's ex girlfriend Peyton left suddenly with only a note to Mac, then TheBusCameBack for one episode. More recently, Stella left for the New Orleans crime lab.
* ''{{Roswell}}'' did it with Alex Whitman. At least until it was revealed that he'd been used and abused by Tess, then killed.

** Tommy was depowered and sent off, as per the arc of his Japanese counterpart, Dragon Ranger, who actually died in the storyline of ''Series/KyoryuSentaiZyuranger'' and thus Saban exhausted their supply of Dragon Ranger footage to use for the Green Ranger. When FOX ordered an extra half-season of footage, Tommy came back, a change probably also required by the ratings - hence why he was suddenly a completely different ranger (they pulled the White Ranger footage from ''[[GoseiSentaiDairanger Dairanger]]''.)

** Rita's father, Master Vile, appeared in the series and stayed for a handful of episodes and, after getting tired of being defeated, returned to the Galaxy MI5, where "evil always wins".

* This is the fate of the Number Three Cylons in ''Series/BattlestarGalacticaReimagined''. After a Number Three Cylon disobeys the consensus of the other Cylon models, it's decided that the Number Three models are inherently flawed. The Number Threes are then "boxed up" and their memories and consciousnesses downloaded into cold storage indefinitely. [[spoiler:At least one number three is "unboxed" later on in season 4.]]

* Stan in ''Series/OnTheBuses'' departs the series to drive buses OopNorth. So he ''was'' PutOnABus.
* Alexis Meade of ''UglyBetty'' was recently put on a bus. Reportedly, Rebecca Romijn didn't like the way the character was being written.
** Also the fate of Ashley Jensen's character Christina.

** The one with the best execution was Claude's departure in Season 1: it's built into his character since he's {{invisible}}. After HRG and the Haitian attack him and Peter, he turns invisible and runs out of Peter's apartment and he hasn't been seen on screen since. But he did play a major role in one of the recent online graphic novels and they've subtly alluded to him a few times onscreen, so his fans are pretty sure that the writers are bringing him back.
* One of the most notorious and self-influential incidents in ''BeverlyHills90210's'' narrative history was putting Brenda Walsh, the show's powerhouse, on a plane to London after actress Shannen Doherty was fired for repeated unprofessional behaviour. Brenda was only supposed to stay in London for a year, but never reappeared in the original show. ''Series/{{Charmed}}'', the next Aaron Spelling product that Doherty starred in, went one further when the actress was dismissed (again) and [[McLeaned killed off her character]].

** More recently, the writers unfortunately did this with the very annoying [[spoiler: Agent Barrett.]]

** You'd think getting Put On A Bus was the only way to get out of Nowhereville, Australia. That or getting killed in a freak accident, which a lot of characters have also opted for.

** Sheriff Roscoe was also PutOnABus (back to the Police Academy) for a few episodes in season 2 due to James Best having his own dispute with producers. Ironically, one of the two men who replaced him at the time was the actual [[TheOtherDarrin Other Darrin]], Dick Sargeant.

* ''Series/DoogieHowserMD'': Dr. Jack [=McGuire=], [[HospitalHottie the hunky (yet not too suave) doc]] played by Mitchell Anderson. Although an integral part of the show, Anderson quit the series at the end of season 2, and was subsequently written off. [=McGuire=], after returning from a life-changing mission trip to {{Mexico}}, decided to move across the border to continue pursuing his medical aspirations.

* In ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'', Darcy supposedly goes to Africa as some sort of missionary, when in reality Shenae Grimes was really working on ''90210''.

*** Alberta seems to be the favored destination for the in-series bus away from Degrassi.
**** Happened to Mia as well when she went off to Paris to model. In reality she ran off to ''TheVampireDiaries''.

** Riker's headstrong double Thomas from "Second Chances" was put on a bus, later to emerge in an episode of Deep Space Nine as [[strike:evil]] a rebel, only to be once again placed on a bus.

* ''Series/CriminalMinds'': [[spoiler: AJ Cook was fired, so JJ was forced to leave the team to work at the Pentagon. The episode, appropriately titled "JJ," was a solid hour of the writers of the show bitterly saying "eff you" to the people who fired Cook.]] [[spoiler: She comes back]]

* In a way, The transition between TheSuiteLifeofZackandCody and the Spin Off series TheSuiteLifeOnDeck is an inverted example with Zack, Cody, London, and Mr. Moseby. They are the only characters that are main characters in both shows, with most of the characters from the original series completely disappearing. Only 6 of the characters from the original series reprise their roles, half of which only make one time appearances, and that's them coming to visit, rather than the characters returning home.
** Maddie Fitzpatrick is put on a bus temporarily in Season 3 of the original series. She comes to visit once in TheSuiteLifeOnDeck

* In the end of ''VideoGame/{{Half-Life}}: Opposing Force'', G-Man stores the main character, Adrian Sheppard away for an undisclosed period of time. This allows for reinstating the character in any future story, even if it is in a completely different era.
** Similarly, Gordon Freeman, the hero of the original ''Half-Life'', is put away in the end of ''Half-Life'', and in the end of ''Half-Life 2''.

** At the end of Half-Life 2: Episode 1, Gordon's security guard-buddy Barney Calhoun is put on a train at the end of the game. He does not appear in Episode 2, nor is he mentioned.

* Angela Cross from the ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'' series. She only appears in ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankGoingCommando Going Commando]]'' and is briefly mentioned on a radio broadcast in ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureACrackInTime A Crack In Time]]''. As the only female Lombax in the series, some fans have wondered why she was written out, especially considering the series' recent focus on Ratchet trying to find out what happened to the rest of his race.
* Drachma, Gilder, and Enrique in ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia''. The Valuan Generals also get PutOnABus.

** In Toadette's case it seems worse. She hasn't been seen since Mario Super Sluggers... And that's from 2008! Giving the fact that after her introduction in ''VideoGame/MarioKart'': Double Dash!! she appeared in almost every Mario game until Super Sluggers, it seems a little odd.

* VideoGame.SuperRobotWarsUX:

** Also Captain Shinobu Igarashi from LinebarrelsofIron only makes one appearance in chapter 40 against Rouri and Kanamoto.
** Rouri and Kanamoto also, we can presume Rouri died when Asap shot him down, and it's not certain did Kanamoto return to Byston Well too with his Shinden after TheWingsOfRean finale.

* Lampshaded in BittersweetCandyBowl several times. [[http://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/candybooru/_images/01d7320ec99c4c264ded1ca83647f1e0/4075%20-%20Jasmine%20SpaceMouse_%28Artist%29%20Taeshi_%28Artist%29.jpg This]] was commissioned by a fan from the artist in anticipation of that character's ultimate fate, due to her importance to the story primarily as Paulo's girlfriend - a status she is unlikely to enjoy much longer. [[http://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/candybooru/post/view/7037?search=Taeshi_%28Artist%29 This]] was drawn after Kizuna's original creator threw a hissy fit, resulting in Taeshi removing the character from the comic, and all of the fancharacters save Tess and McCain have been [[RetCon retconned]] out of the comic.

* Happens a lot in ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' due to the [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters sheer number of characters]] it's introduced over its [[LongRunner long run]]. Characters very rarely ''stay'' on the bus, however. Even if it takes over a decade, it seems like every character who isn't explicitly killed off is bound to make a second appearance.
** Recently, [[spoiler:Sasha, who had moved away]] seven years ago, made a return to the comic.

** More permanently done with A.M.A.Z.O, who's still out on the edge of the universe trying to figure out how to beat Solomon Grundy.
*** WordOfGod was he would return in the last episode as a BrickJoke, but they forgot about him.

* ''WesternAnimation/HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw'' takes this to the extreme by having the character, Phil Sebben, not only be PutOnABus, but be hit by it as well.

** Homer's brother Herb hasn't been seen since season three, after he regained his fortune with a baby translator. Homer even lampshades to Herb as "his seldomly seen half brother".
*** Believe it or not but Herb has a line in a recent season episode of the Simpsons. Homer needs some money and calls up his brother, and Herb only says: "I'm poor again." ''D'oh!''

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** [[BadFuture Dark World]]!Rainbow Dash is left at Sweet Rock Acres after her HeelFaceTurn because, due to her HeelRealization, she's [[DrivenToSuicide presently suicidal]] and needs time to get her mind in order. [[TheBusCameBack She returns later on]] just in time to [[spoiler: help the group take down [[OneWingedAngel Odyne]]![[DaddysLittleVillain Cruelty]]. She and the Princesses are put back on the bus after the latter are freed because the Princesses are presently powerless fillies, and Twilight doesn't want to put all their eggs in one basket on the off chance Discord had one last trump card up his sleeve. And then [[TheBusCameBack the bus comes back]] again when [[BigGood the Benevolent Interloper]] tips them off that Twilight and the others will need help against [[TrueFinalBoss Nightmare Paradox]] and her {{Psycho Ranger}}s.]]

** [[BadFuture Dark World]]!Rainbow Dash is left at Sweet Rock Acres after her HeelFaceTurn because, due to her HeelRealization, she's [[DrivenToSuicide presently suicidal]] and needs time to get her mind in order. [[TheBusCameBack She returns later on]] just in time to [[spoiler: help the group take down [[OneWingedAngel Odyne]]![[DaddysLittleVillain Cruelty]]. She and the Princesses are put back on the bus after the latter are freed because the Princesses are presently powerless fillies, and Twilight doesn't want to put all their eggs in one basket on the off chance Discord had one last trump card up his sleeve.]]

** Ironically, it looks like Killua has been but on a pus as of recently since he's off to travel with his sister Alluka for a bit.

* In ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' Victoria was put on a bus at the end of The Ducky Tie. She had been ''figuratively'' put on a bus in season 1 when she went off to Germany and became close to Klaus in her class.

** Giorno is last shown at the end of Part 5 and was later stated by WordOfGod to be in Florida during Part 6 after Pucci gained the Joestar birthmark. He should have been drawn to Pucci by the bloodline connection, but still doesn't appear.

** By the end of chapter 16, [[spoiler: Akuto and Junko make a cameo.

* ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'': Apparently happened to [[spoiler: Tyler Lockwood]] mid-season 2.

* Father Callahan from the Creator/StephenKing novel ''Literature/SalemsLot'' went off on a literal bus near the end of the book, and rather unexpectedly reappeared years later in the loosely related ''TheDarkTower'' series as a church pastor in another dimension. It is explained he spent a lot of the intervening time killing vampires.